Celebrating Bekwarra LGA: The Second Open Defecation Free LGA under the RUSHPIN Programme. The Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) programme is an initiative of the Government of Nigeria, implemented with funding from the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF)/Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). United Purpose (UP), an International NGO headquartered in the UK, is the Executing Agency of the RUSHPIN programme. RUSHPIN is a ground-breaking 7-year, $5 million, programme that is transforming the health of over 1,200 communities in Cross River and Benue States across six LGAs in Benue State and Cross River State. The programme uses the ‘Community-Led Total Sanitation’ approach, empowering entire communities to collectively change their sanitation and hygiene behaviour, ensuring that every community member uses a toilet and practices good hygiene. On the 23rd of April 2018, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Cross-River State Government, through the Cross-River State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWATSSA) declared Bekwarra LGA an Open Defecation free LGA. This followed the successful completion of a rigorous process of three-stage verification, certification and a final validation by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS). Bekwarra LGA is the second LGA to attain Open Defecation Free status under the RUSHPIN programme in Cross River State as well as the 4th of the 774 LGAs in Nigeria. The LGA’s estimated 131,000 people now live in clean, healthy environments, and all households and key public spaces have constructed for themselves latrines and sanitation facilities. They have put an end to open defection through a collective behaviour change process. The impact of this change process is most felt by children under 5 years old – the main victims of diseases resulting from poor sanitation and hygiene practices. The sanitation model of the RUSHPIN Programme is specifically designed for replication and expanding to scale into three additional local government areas - Akampa, Obudu, and Ogoja. This commitment is embedded in the MoU signed between the Cross-River State Government, the Federal Government and the donor (UNOPS/WSSCC) in 2014. The Government of Benue State has honoured their commitment to the RUSHPIN programme, and scale-up has commenced in Ado, Gboko and Gwer West LGAs. With the benefits of the programme in improving health and wellbeing exceedingly clear, there is need for the Cross-River State Government to similarly honour this commitment, by providing the required counterpart funding to take the programme to scale. Today’s event - Thursday 27th September, 2018 The People of Bekwarra are celebrating this achievement of becoming an ODF Local Government Area. Representatives of the people of Bekwarra - Chiefs, WASHCOM members and Local Government authorities are gathering St. Christopher’s Primary School Abuochiche, Bekwarra LGA. Representatives from the State Government and Relevant Ministries Department and Agencies will be in attendance. Leading the delegation is the Secretary to the State government. Others are; the Commissioner for Water Resources and the Director General Cross River State RUWATSSA At the Federal Government level – the National Task Group on Satiation will be in attendance, the WASH Ambassador – Engr Ebele Okeke, the National Coordinator WSSCC, Mrs Priscilla Achakpa and the Society for water and Sanitation (NEWSAN) National Office For more information, please contact: Nanpet Chuktu, United Purpose Nigeria’s Programme Manager, on Nanpet.Chuktu @United-Purpose.org or +234 803 595 8712. Note to Editors: United Purpose (UP) is an international development charity with an innovative community led approach to delivering the Sustainable Development Goals and eradicating global poverty and inequality. We lift people up out of poverty by providing solutions to poverty that last. Our unique approach combines high quality intelligent development, disruptive innovation and enabling independence making us a powerful agent of change. For more information on United Purpose, visit www.united-purpose.org follow @UnitedPurposeNG on Twitter, or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UnitedPurposeNigeria/ .